Climate Change Revealed by Jessica Moon ARt in Boulder

I believe that climate change is the most pressing issue facing our world. “Climate Change Revealed” mural illustrates how rising temperatures and other human impacts on the environment affect Boulder.  I took global temperature data dating from 1850 to the present and incorporated it into the mural. Each vertical inch represents the average temperature for that year. The stripes transform from dark to light blue and then light to dark red as the years pass, representing rising temperatures and our warming planet.  The wheat-pasted elements bring the mural back to Boulder. I wheat-pasted a historical image of Chief Niwot, also known as Chief Left Hand. Chief Niwot was a leader of the Southern Arapaho people who lived along the Front Range and spent winters in Boulder Valley. Local legend tells of the Curse of Chief Niwot. The legend goes that he proclaimed, “People seeing the beauty of this valley will want to stay, and their staying will be the undoing of the beauty.” Chief Niwot made this statement upon meeting the first white settlers of the area who were searching for gold.  As more and more people have migrated to Boulder, development has resulted in the loss of natural resources and habitat for many animals (as well as pushed out Indigenous communities). I placed the silhouettes of these endangered species in Chief Niwot’s vision. Animals such as black-footed ferrets, lynxes, and herons remain threatened in the Boulder area.